The Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (AMEX:BSOL) was hailed as the strongest ETF launch of 2025, exceeding expectations and achieving record volumes. It traded $72.4 million on its second day and $56 million on its debut, making it the fund with the highest volume among nearly 850 ETF launches this year.
Bitwise Asset Management has temporarily waived its management fee to bolster initial investor buy-in. It can also be said that BSOL’s performance demonstrated the growing institutional and retail interest in investment products linked to Solana, a blockchain that has been attracting attention for its staking yields and transaction speed.
BSOL outperformed all other recent launches, including BlackRock’s ETF (NASDAQ:ETHA) and Bitwise’s own BITB (AMEX:BITB). Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas said the initial volume was “a huge number” and indicative of sustained market momentum, unusual after the first day.
With $69.5 million in inflows and a total net worth of $292.4 million shortly after launch, BSOL replicated the success of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, which dominated the market in early and mid-2024.
BSOL offers 100% direct exposure to Solana (COIN:SOLUSD), with all assets staked internally, passing on all network yields, estimated at around 7% per year, to investors. The 0.20% management fee is waived for the first three months.
Meanwhile, the competing ETF REX Osprey SOL Staking (AMEX:SSK) has raised $18 million and offers a diversified portfolio, including holdings in Solana, CoinShares Physical Staked Solana, and short-term bonds. The fund charges 0.75% and distributes rewards monthly.
Grayscale Investments also converted its former closed-end fund into an ETF, GSOL, which raised $4 million. The more modest launch fell short of BSOL’s performance level, which analysts attribute to the one-day delay compared to Bitwise’s debut.
Other funds, such as the Hedera (NASDAQ:HBR) and Litecoin (NASDAQ:LTCC) ETFs launched by Canary Capital, recorded volumes of $8 million and $1 million, respectively, but without net inflow.
Currently, more than 150 crypto ETP proposals tracking 35 digital assets are awaiting SEC approval. Most are based on Solana and Bitcoin.
The SEC’s new guidelines, published after the government shutdown in October, simplified ETF registration by eliminating steps that delayed the approval process.